IAF Opens First Dronathon-2026 at Pokhran Firing Range

The correct answer is the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Jaisalmer. The Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, opened the first edition of Dronathon there, and the same range hosted the live demonstration of the indigenous traffic management system Vayu UTtaM on the opening day. Senior officers of the Ministry of Defence and Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, along with representatives of the Indian Army and the Border Security Force, attended the ceremony. Option B is wrong because no part of the event was held at an air force station near the capital. Option C is wrong because the Chandipur range in Odisha is associated with missile trials rather than this unmanned systems exercise. Option D is wrong for the same reason, as the Suryalanka range is used for air defence practice. Candidates should link Dronathon firmly with Pokhran in Rajasthan, because the venue is the most frequently asked detail in such questions.

The correct answer is an indigenous Unmanned Traffic Management system. Vayu UTtaM is described as an indigenously developed multi mode system, and during its real time demonstration at the Pokhran range it detected and tracked both military and civil unmanned aircraft. Its purpose is to allow coordinated management of drone flights in increasingly crowded airspace and to help identify and deal with unauthorised or rogue drones in good time. The release also notes that its uses may go well beyond the military, into airspace safety, protection of critical infrastructure, civil aviation and public safety. Option A is wrong because Vayu UTtaM does not fly or carry weapons; it manages the traffic of systems that do. Option C is wrong because no missile was part of this event. Option D is wrong because it is not a satellite and has nothing to do with weather forecasting, though the confusion between an airborne platform and a management system is a common one.

The correct answer is the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, who released the IAF UAS Roadmap. The officer holding that post is Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, and he both opened the event and put out the roadmap, which is meant to give Indian industry a clearer view of the capability priorities of the Air Force. The roadmap is also intended to help industry, academia and research organisations line up their work with what the force will need from unmanned airborne systems in the years ahead. Option A is wrong because the Chief of Defence Staff did not inaugurate the event, although senior officers of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff were present. Option C is wrong because the Defence Minister was not named as releasing any document here. Option D is wrong because it was the Vice Chief and not the Chief of the Air Staff, and the document concerned unmanned systems rather than air power doctrine as a whole.